from Chris Ryan of NJ.com,

Over two NHL seasons, Hischier scored 37 goals and posted 99 points over 151 games. Hischier played without Hall for the entire second half of the 2018-19 season, when Hall was sidelined with a knee injury. Yet the center found ways to drive a line on his own without leaning on Hall, and that experience should benefit the Swiss forward....

The raw stats didn’t make a jump for Hischier in his second NHL season, but Devils brass saw plenty of signs that pointed to Hischier making strides. With Hall back and an improved core of forwards all around him, the results could show up in the box score in 2019-20.

“If you look at his first year he comes in, he’s 18, he has a tremendous year,” Devils coach John Hynes said. "He centered the Hart Trophy winner and we make the playoffs, and then last year he came back, we thought he was a better player. We really went through a lot of the clips on the line numbers and things like that. He was a really strong, impact player for us.

“I just think physically and mentally, in your third year, you’ve been around the league, he understands the league better, he’s bigger and stronger, he’s more confident. He’s had some highs and lows and a lot of times that doesn’t just happen in one year, but a combined two-year situation for him is good.”

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